Jharrel Jerome, Julia Garner big winners at Sunday's Emmys

Riverdale was well represented at the Emmy awards this past week, with two actors either from or with ties to the community picking up their first-ever acting trophies from the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences.

Jharrel Jerome, who in 2016 appeared in the Oscar-winning drama “Moonlight,” earned an Emmy for outstanding lead actor in a limited series or movie for portraying Korey Wise, one of the so-called “Central Park Five,” in the Ava DuVernay miniseries “When They See Us.”

The 21-year-old started his pursuit of acting while in middle school, joining Riverdale Children’s Theatre, while traveling into Manhattan every day to attend Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School.

“I feel like I should just be in the Bronx right now, chilling, waiting for my mom’s cooking or something,” Jerome said after receiving his Emmy statue in Hollywood Sunday night. “But I’m here in front of my inspirations, I’m here in front of people who I’m so motivated by. And the reason I’m here is because of actors like the people I was in the category with.”

Jerome, who was joined at the annual awards ceremony by his mother, was nominated among some of television (and film’s) greatest actors, like Benicio del Toro, Hugh Grant, Jared Harris, Sam Rockwell, and his “Moonlight” co-star, Mahershala Ali. Both Rockwell and Ali have won Oscars for their past film work, including Ali’s first Academy Award for “Moonlight.”

Also winning her first Emmy was Julia Garner from the Netflix series “Ozark.” The 25-year-old Riverdale native won for outstanding supporting actress in a drama series, winning against four actresses from HBO’s “Game of Thrones,” as well as “Killing Eve’s” Fiona Shaw.

As Garner took the stage, program announcer (and comedian) Thomas Lennon joked Garner was from the Bronx, “the Ozarks of New York City.” The actress herself thought of the Emmy statue more as a large wrapped chocolate, and wanted to give pieces of that chocolate to everyone who has been a part of her life and career, beginning with “Ozark” star Jason Bateman.

“I love playing Ruth so much,” Garner said about her character in the Netflix series. “And every day I just feel so lucky to be doing this.”

Before “Ozark,” Garner had roles in several other high-profile television series including another Netflix series “Maniac” as well as the FX series “The Americans,” which filmed a number of scenes in and around Riverdale during its run.